Lock



March 11, 1947. J. A. JOHNSTON v 1 LOCK I I Filed Feb. 22. 1943 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Jame: flmler Johwfozz Y M232, Men- 1W ATTORNEYS March 11, 1947. J, JOHNSTON LOCK Filed Feb. 22, 1943 J3 x9 a/ M g4? L n l x INVENTOR Llamas 47275137 afinafoiz f file/M12 ATTORNEY5 3 Sheets-Shet 5 i fl i 7 J. A. JOHNSTON LOCK Filed Feb'. 22, 1943 March 11, 1947.

ATTORNEYS J6 J3 James/mi/er/0finsiwz 2 3214,, zwli'ma Patented Mar. 11,1947

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOCK James Ambler Johnston, Richmond, Va.

Application February 22, 1943, Serial No. 476,679

l invention relates to locking mechanism for prison cell doors and has for its object to provide a structure wherein all the doors of a row of cells may be simultaneously locked and unlocked by an operator standing at the end of the row and in a position facing down the row so that he may observe the ingress and egress of the prisoners while manipulating the lock.

A further object of the invention is to provide alocking mechanism'of the class described which yls completely concealed within the Wall above the cell doors and in the door frames, with no external parts to be tampered with or mar the appearanceof the facade.

eration to effect the locking of the doors unless all the doors -are closed and in position to be locked. By this arrangement it is impossible for the locking mechanism to be actuated While a cell occupant holds his door ajar and thereby prevent the door being locked.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following specification wherein I have described in detail a preferred embodiment of my invention which is illustrated in the accompanying'drawings. In the said drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a'portion of *a cell block showing two cell doors equipped with my improved lock;

Fig. 2 is a'vertical sectional view parallel with the face ofthe cell block and showing the operating mechanism at the end of the cell block and the locking mechanism of the adjacent door;

Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sections on lines '3-3 and '4--4, respectively, of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view showing the locking mechanism in intermediate safety position;

Fig. '6 is a similar view showing the locking mechan'ismin open position;

Fig. 7 Ba detail sectional view on an enlarged scale on line l'| of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 18 is a detail sectional view on line 88 of Fig.7.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows the front wall :of the cellblock which may be of steel construction or of reinforced concrete construction, and comprises .2. :channel member 2 extendtially withdrawn in the lock case.

2 ing along the wall above the cell doors and *enclosing a portion of the lock-operating mechanism. In reinforced concrete construction, this channel member 2 and hollow door frame 3 are particularly adaptable to being placed in the concrete forms and thereby being imbedded'integrally in the concrete. The door frame 3 adjacent the free vertical edge of the door, that is. the frame at the side opposite the hinges, is also of hollow steel construction and houses the locking mechanism for each door. Set in the wall at the corner of the cell block so as to be 'fiush with the wall on both sides is a metal box 4 having a door '5 with a 'key lock in which is mounted locking operating mechanism for the entire row of cells.

Each cell door, as shown, has a key prison deadlock 6 of any suitable construction and comprising a bolt 1, which bolt 1 is of such extra length that in an unlocked position the bolt is only par- This bolt is projected by the key through a slot 8 in the adjacent wall of the hollow door frame 3. The front wall of the door frame is provided with a notch 9 so that the door may be opened with the bolt '1 projecting in its fully projected position beyond the face of the door. That is to say, by the action of the key the bolt is shifted to an extreme projected position and remains in that position for normal operation, but when the door is unlocked with a key from the intermediate or safety position, the bolt is only partially withdrawn into the lock case. In locked position the bolt '1 co-operates with a lug l0 formed on a vertical bar H pivoted at 12 at the bottom within the hollow door frame member 3. This bar projects at its upper end into the hollow frame memher 2 and is there connected by a pin 13 to abar M which extends throughout the length of the cell block and is supported in guides l5 for movement in a plane parallel with the face of the wall. Each door of the cell block is equipped with a similar locking mechanism'which is simultaneously actuated by the movement of the bar H and of a length when in Full locked" position as shown in Fig. 2, to project through a suitable registering opening lB in the adjacent wall of the door frame and into an opening in the iron bar forming the adjacent edge of the door. This opening in 20 as shown in Fig. 3 is closed by a cap 2| welded to the bar to thereby prevent tampering with the lock. By this arrangement the door will be held locked even though the bolt of the key lock be withdrawn by a duplicate key or otherwise.

The bar i4 is shifted by a lever mechanism contained in the locker 5 and comprising an operating handle 22 pivoted at the top and provided with a grip 23 at the bottom. A locking trigger 24 of usual construction is provided, the bolt 26 of the locking trigger working against a notched segment 25 having three notches for holding the operating lever in Full open po sition, safety or Open position, and Full locked position, as indicated in Fig. 2.

The operating lever 22 is connected to the bar [4 by means of an intermediate lever 26 pivoted on the segment 25 and connected by a pin 21 to the end of the bar 14. A link 28 connects the levers 22 and 26.

In order that a prisoner may not prevent his door being locked by holding it slightly open when the locking mechanism is operated, a safety latch is provided which is shown in detail in Figs. '7 and 8. This mechanism comprises a lever mounted on a fixed pivot 29 and having at its free end an upwardly projecting detent 34 which 4 a particular cell the warden shifts the operating lever 23 to intermediate position and then with his key unlocks the particular cell desired. He can then upon closing the cell door shift the handle back to fully locked position.

The mechanism is simple in construction and composed of few rugged parts not easily tampered with and not liable to get out of order. The entire mechanism is built into the wall of a cell block, which greatly improves the appearance of the building.

I claim:

1. In a cell door structure a hollow structural member in the wall overlying a row of cell doors,

in its Safety position lies in the path of movement of a lug 3| welded to the face of the bar [4 to thereby prevent its movement from fully open position. The detent 34 is urged toward the bar M by a spring 35, and for convenience of assembling, the supports for the pivot 23 and spring 35 are carried by a plate 36 which is welded or otherwise secured to the inner face of the channel member 2.

The lever 30 extends beyond the pivot 29 and carries at its end a short link 36 to the end of which is attached a button 33 which projects through a hole in the front wall of the channel member 2 in position to be engaged by a lug 32, attached to the upper edge of the door. When the door is open, or ajar, the spring 35 maintains the button 33 projected beyond the face of the channel 2 and the detent 34 in the path of movement of the lug 3|.

When the door is fully closed so as to bring the lug 32 against the face of the channel member 2, the lever 30 will be turned on its pivot, thereby shifting the detent 34 out of the path of movement of the lug 3|, thereby freeing the bar [4 so that the warden may shift the operating lever to look all the cells in the row. As the end of the lever 30 to which the button 33 is attached is much shorter than the end which carries the detent 34, a very small movement of the button is suflicient to release the detent so that if the door is ajar even a fraction of an inch, the bar I4 cannot be operated. Hence any failure of a prisoner to hold a door tightly closed will be detected.

The operation of the mechanism will be apparent from the foregoing description. As explained above, in the intermediate, or safety, position, the locking lug I! will be withdrawn from the hole in the door frame as shown in Fig. 5, but the lug 10 will be engaged by the fully projected bolt 1 of the key look. In this position all the cells are locked by the key bolt. Hence, to open individual hollow door frame members with their interior space communicating with the space enclosed in said hollow structural member, an operating bar mounted for longitudinal movement in said hollow structural member, individual looking bolts for each of said cell doors, bolt-operating members in said hollow door frame members connected to said bar and adapted on movement of said bar to shift said bolts from unlocked to locked position, operating means for said bar and means for preventing movement of said bar except when all said doors are in position to be locked, said means comprising a latch for said bar having a portion which in latched position projects beyond the face of said hollow structural member and a projection on said door adapted to engage the projecting portion of said member and shift the same to release said latch. 2. In a cell door structure a hollow structural member in the wall overlying a row of cell doors, individual hollow door frame members with their interior space communicating with the space enclosed in said hollow structural member, an operating bar mounted for longitudinal movement in said hollow structural member, individual looking bolts for each of said cell doors, bolt-operating members in said hollow door frame members connected to said bar and adapted on movement of said bar to shift said bolts from unlocked to locked position, operating means for said bar, and means controlled by the position of the cell door for preventing movement of said bar to locked position except when all said doors are in position to be locked said means comprising a latch for said bar having a portion which in latched position projects beyond the face of said hollow structural member and a projection on said door adapted to engage the projecting portion of said member and shift the same to release said latch. I

3. In a cell door structure a hollow structural member in'the wall overlying a row of cell doors, individual hollow door frame members with their interior space communicating with the space enclosed in said hollow structural member, an operating bar mounted for longitudinal movement in said hollow structural member, and a vertical member pivotally mounted in said hollow door frame and connected'to said bar, a plurality of bolts fixed to said member and adapted upon movement of said bar in one direction to be projected through the wall of said hollow structural member into locking en gement with said door, and a key-controlled member carried by said door co-operating with one of said bolts whereby in one position of said bar the door may be looked and unlocked by shifting said key-controlled member.

4. In a cell door structure a hollow structural .member in the wall overlying a row of cell doors,

individual hollow door frame members with their door co-operating with one of said bolts whereby in one position of said bar the door may be locked and unlocked by shifting said key-controlled member, a member for operating said bar and means for latching said member to maintain said bar in the above position and also in a position where said bolts are clear of said door and the projected key-controlled member respectively, and in a third position where said bolts are engaged with said door and the retracted key-controlled member.

5. In a cell door structure a door frame hav-- ing hollow side members and a continuous hollow top member extending over a plurality of doors, a bolt operating member for each door mounted in one of said hollow side members for movement toward and away from the door, two separate bolts for each door carried by said member and adapted to be projected by the movement of said member to its extreme position in one direction into engagement with different portions of the door and a key-operated member mounted on said door in position to engage one of said bolts, when said operating member is in a position where said other bolt is out of engagement with said door, and a common operating member for a plurality of said doors mounted for movement within said common hollow top member and directly connected to each of said bolt carrying members.

6. In a cell door structure a door frame having hollow side members and a continuous hollow top member extending over a plurality of doors, a bolt operating member for each door mounted in said hollow side member for movement toward and away from the door, .two separate bolts for each door carried by said member and adapted to be projected by the movement of said member into engagement with the door, a common operating member for a plurality of said doors mounted for movement within said common hollow door frame member and directly connected to each of said bolt carrying members, and a key controlled part mounted on each door adapted to be projected by said key into position to be engaged by one of said bolts at a position of said operating member where the other of said bolts is free of engagement with the door.

JAMES AMBLER JOHNSTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,940,639 White Dec. 19, 1933 2,023,437 Ralston Dec. 10, 1935 26,108 Jacobs Nov. 15, 1859 43.915 Jacobs Aug. 23, 1864 

